Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sunbury gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $190K for a typical one, or 3.1 years of the Sunbury area’s $62K median household income. It grades B− overall, 686th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country and its public schools trail 76% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. That puts Sunbury where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Sunbury is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. Only 19 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns score higher on history.
Where Sunbury beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 613 in 1800, a peak of 15,721 in 1920, 9,719 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1778 and 7 maps from 1893 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Sunbury is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sunbury, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Sunbury.
Sunbury trades workers with Monroe Township and other neighbors, has property taxes about half the Pennsylvania norm and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s.
23% of Sunbury adults smoke cigarettes. Sunbury beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 32% of Sunbury adults get no exercise outside work.
| Sunbury | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 19% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Sunbury | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 10.7% | 5.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.8% | 14.5% |
| More smokers | 23% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Shikellamy SD. Its one school is below. The largest public high school is Shikellamy HS, with 855 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shikellamy HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 855 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
1.4 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Memorial Park, at 33 acres.
| Sunbury | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Merle Phillips Park | 1 mi | 12 |
| 2. Memorial Park | — | 33 |
| 3. Oppenheimer Pleasure Grounds | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 63% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 73 to 36 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Sunbury’s property crime rate is 2.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Sunbury | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median property tax bill is $1,444, against $3,311 across Pennsylvania, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
57% of households own their home in Sunbury. The typical Sunbury home is worth about $190,000, up 2.2% in a year, 34% below the Pennsylvania typical home. The median rent in Sunbury is $738 a month.
| Sunbury | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $738 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 53 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sunbury.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sunbury has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Sunbury has about as many jobs (3,744) as working residents, but only 468 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 4,774 in 2013 to 3,744.
Most working residents leave Sunbury for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Sunbury fell to 3,744 in 2023, 1,030 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Monroe Township (8%), Point Township (5%) and Mahoning Township (5%).
| Sunbury | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.5% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sunbury. Close and well known come first.
in town MuseumFort Augusta39 mi MuseumFighter's Heaven39 mi MuseumAACA Museum
40 mi GardenHershey Gardens
35 mi MuseumLittle Buffalo State ParkFort Augusta: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Hershey Gardens: Kris Bradley, CC BY 2.0 · Little Buffalo State Park: Ben Winslow, CC BY-SA 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Sunbury
About 4 of every 100 Sunbury residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
4 places in Sunbury on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Sunbury.
City in Pennsylvania, United States
Sunbury ( SUN-berr-ee) is a city in and the county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River at the confluence of the river's North and West branches, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Harrisburg. As of the 2020 United States census, Sunbury had a population of 9,719. It is the principal city of the Sunbury micropolitan statistical area, which comprises Northumberland County and is part of the larger Bloomsburg–Berwick–Sunbury combined statistical area. The site of Sunbury was long occupied by Shamokin, one of the largest and most important Native American settlements in colonial Pennsylvania, and later by Fort Augusta, the p…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sunbury grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #686 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health, A− for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
12 notable people were born here, including Betty Brice and Jasper Ewing Brady.
